The Perfect Youngstown Summer Guide: Pools & Parks Edition + 130 amazing events inside!! - YoTown Scoop
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July 16, 2026

The Perfect Youngstown Summer Guide: Pools & Parks Edition + 130 amazing events inside!!

The area's complete guide to cool dips and summer trips

The Perfect Youngstown Summer Guide: Pools & Parks Edition + 130 amazing events inside!!

The area's complete guide to cool dips and summer trips

Author

Jacqueline Nash
July 16, 2026

Hi YoTown Friends! 👋

Grab a towel, air up the tires, and pack the sunscreen — this week we're getting you out the door.

Below is your save-and-share guide to the best places to cool off and soak up summer across Mahoning, Columbiana, and Trumbull counties — every name is a clickable link to hours, maps, and more. Plus a fresh way to explore Mill Creek and a delicious local lunch spot. 💡 Tip: bookmark this one for all summer.

This Week's Edition

1. 📣 Pools & Parks Guide: Your Summer Cheat Sheet
2. 🐾 Good Dog Roll Call: Who Needs a Poolside Buddy?
3. Local Eats Spotlight: Sweet Melissa's Good Eats
4. Make It a Weekend: Campground Picks
5. Summer Shows More Skin (New Canvas)
6. Your Post-Pool Reset
7. Cover Your Summer Fun
8. 🧹 Sandy Shoes & Wet Towels
9. Keep Your Cool All Summer
10. Homes Near the Parks You Love
11. Explore Mill Creek on Two Wheels
12. More Scoop Between Issues
13. 📣 Want Your Business in the Scoop?
14. 📅 The Ultimate Weekend Guide
15. P.S.

The crown jewel of the Valley — 5,000+ acres of trails, gardens, waterfalls, and paved bikeway. Wander Lanterman's Mill, picnic at the Lily Pond, stroll Fellows Riverside Gardens, or catch the view from Bears Den. It's the perfect first stop of the summer.

📍 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Rd, Canfield (spanning Youngstown)  
·  📞 330-702-3000 
·  🔗 millcreekmetroparks.org

🐾 Good Dog Roll Call: Who Needs a Poolside Pal?

Everyone needs a summer poolside pal — and every dog deserves a loving home.
These two sweeties are ready to have some summer fun in a home that loves them.

Adoptable dogs from Mahoning County Dog Warden

📍 Mahoning County Dog Warden 
1230 N Meridian Rd, Youngstown, OH 44509
📞 330-740-2205 ·
🔗 Check their Facebook page »

Parks & Recreation: Perfect for Summer Fun

🏞️ Mahoning County

🏖️ Lake Milton State Park — Craig Beach
A real sand swimming beach without leaving the county.
📍 16801 Mahoning Ave, Lake Milton  ·  📞 330-296-3239

🏊 Northside Pool (City of Youngstown)
Classic outdoor city pool.
📍 Youngstown  ·  📞 330-742-8701 (Parks & Rec)

🏊 Davis Family YMCA — Outdoor Pool
Lap lanes and family swim.
📍 Boardman  ·  📞 330-744-8411

💦 Austintown Township Park Splash Pad
220-acre park with a splash pad the kids love.
📍 6000 Kirk Rd, Austintown  ·  📞 330-793-0718

💦 James L. Wick Jr. Recreation Area (Mill Creek MetroParks)
Splash pad, playground, and trails. 📍 1861 McCollum Rd, Youngstown  ·  📞 330-702-3000

💦 John White Park & Homestead Park Splash Pads (City of Youngstown)
Neighborhood splash pads to cool off. 📍 Youngstown  ·  📞 330-742-8701 (Parks & Rec)

🌲 Columbiana County

🌳 Beaver Creek State Park
Gaston's Mill, covered bridges, and gorgeous creekside trails. 📍 12021 Echo Dell Rd, East Liverpool  ·  📞 330-385-3091

🚣 Guilford Lake State Park
Easygoing lake for paddling, fishing, and a picnic. 📍 Lisbon  ·  📞 330-222-1712

🏊 Centennial Park — Pool & Splash Pad
Pool and splash pad in one stop. 📍 472 Park Ave, Salem  ·  📞 330-271-8913

💦 Firestone Park Pool
A hometown-summer classic, open noon–7 daily. 📍 338 E Park Ave, Columbiana  ·  📞 330-482-1026

🦆 Trumbull County

🏖️ Mosquito Lake State Park
Swimming beach, boating, and one of Ohio's biggest lakes.
📍 1439 State Route 305, Cortland  ·  📞 330-637-2856

🌿 Trumbull County MetroParks
Quiet nature preserves and shady trails.
📍 Warren  ·  📞 330-675-2480

🦆 Packard Park
Shady paths, a lagoon, and summer concerts.
📍 Warren

💦 Cortland Splash Pad
A favorite for the little ones.
📍 Cortland

💦 McDonald Woodland Park Splash Pad
Small-town charm and cool water.
📍 McDonald

⛺ Make It a Weekend: Campgrounds

Mosquito Lake State Park Campground
Lakeside sites minutes from the beach.
📍 Cortland  ·  📞 Reserve: 866-644-6727

 Guilford Lake State Park Campground
Quiet, family-friendly lakeside camping.
📍 Lisbon  ·  📞 Reserve: 866-644-6727

 Mill Creek Camping at Berlin Lake (U.S. Army Corps)
Wooded lakefront sites for boaters and swimmers.
📍 Berlin Center  ·  📞 Reserve: 877-444-6777

🚲 EXPLORE MILL CREEK A NEW WAY

Cruise the Creek E-Bikes

You've walked Mill Creek. This summer, ride it. Cruise the Creek rents electric bikes that make the hills disappear and the miles fly by — perfect for date nights, family outings, or finally seeing the far corners of the park.

Trailside Journey — flat, fast, paved bikeways. Great for first-timers & families. Unleash Your Adventure — wooded trails & hilly terrain for confident riders.

📍 Pickup at Kirk Road (6685 Kirk Rd, Canfield) or Bears Den (Scholl Recreation Pavilion, Youngstown)

Text to reserve: 330-406-9686 
·  🔗 cruisethecreek.com/rentals 
·  Facebook

🍴 LOCAL EATS SPOTLIGHT

Sweet Melissa's Good Eats

Visit Sweet Melissa’s Facebook page

After a morning at the park, refuel somewhere fresh. Sweet Melissa's on Market Street is the Valley's go-to for feel-good food — 11 kinds of loaded salads, overstuffed wraps, quinoa power bowls, daily sliders, and homemade dressings. Generous portions, good ingredients, and you'll walk out feeling better than when you walked in.

"Super, super, super — yum, yum! Quick, fresh food that's perfect for lunch, and friendly staff. I always come back." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

— from Google & Tripadvisor reviews

📍 6810 Market St, Boardman (Youngstown)  
·  📞 330-953-2610
🕒 Mon–Fri 10:30 AM–5:30 PM (kitchen 'til 5)
· Closed weekends

🔗 sweetmelissasgoodeats.com 
·  Facebook (also in Columbiana & Howland)

Sandy Shoes & Wet Towels…

Pool days, park picnics, and lake trips are wonderful — the sandy shoes, wet towels, and tracked-in grass afterward, not so much. When your weekends are full of sun and your house is full of summer mess, let someone else handle the cleanup.

Thanks to their attention to detail and friendly staff, All Spruced Up Cleaning Co. is booking a few weeks out — so get your deep clean or routine cleaning on the calendar before summer fully takes over.

Homes Near the Parks You Love

There's nothing like a summer evening in the Valley — a walk through Mill Creek, kids at the splash pad, neighbors out on the porch. It's a good reminder of what makes a place feel like home.

If you're thinking about buying or selling in the Mahoning Valley, Hailey Ditullio can help you find a home that fits the life you're actually building here — close to the parks, pools, and people you love.

Keep Your Cool All Summer

Summer heat, houseguests, cookouts, and back-to-back pool days put your plumbing and AC to work overtime. If something starts backing up, leaking, or refusing to cool while you're trying to enjoy the season, call before it turns into the main event.

Cover Your Summer Fun

Boats, jet skis, campers, golf carts, backyard pools, road trips to the lake… Summer is fun. It's also a great reminder to make sure your insurance actually covers all the ways you play.

Call Preston Moore with Moore Family Insurance and get the boring-but-important stuff handled before your next lake day.

Make sure your summer fun is covered. Call Moore Family Insurance.

Your Post Pool Reset

A day at the pool or park is fun, but the heat, sun, and chlorine catch up with your hair and scalp fast. Youngstown Head Spa is your quiet reset — warm water, scalp cleansing, massage, and one peaceful hour where nobody needs anything from you.

Healthy hair starts at the root. Book your deep scalp cleanse at Youngstown Head Spa

Summer Shows More Skin (Get a New Canvas)

Summer shows a lot more skin — tank tops, swimsuits, shorts, sundresses. And sometimes what shows up with it is a tattoo from a chapter of your life you've already closed. That ex's name, the spring-break impulse, the "seemed like a good idea at 19" — you don't have to keep wearing it.

Skin Solution Medspa offers professional laser tattoo removal to help you fade the past and feel confident in your own skin again — just in time for pool season. And while you're at it, ask about a summer facial to refresh sun-tired skin and keep your glow looking intentional. New chapter, clean canvas.

📞 330-977-5788 (call or text)  ·  Free consultation  ·  🔗 skinsolutionmedspa.com  ·  Facebook

Professional Tattoo Removal at Skin Solution MedSpa 330-977-5788

Summer gets locals out and about — and YoTown Scoop helps local businesses stay in front of them all week long. If you want Mahoning Valley locals to know who you are, what you do, and why they should choose you, newsletter sponsorship is a simple way to show up where the community is already paying attention.

P.S. Pick one spot on that list you've never been to — and go this week. The Valley is prettiest with your feet in the water.

📲 More Scoop Between Issues

The newsletter hits Thursdays. The Facebook group? That's where the magic happens all week long — last-minute event adds, reader tips, breaking good news, and the best kind of YoTown conversation.

🔗 YoTown Scoop on Facebook ·
🔗 yotownscoop.com

Events bring people out — but YoTown Scoop helps local businesses stay in front of them all week long. If you want Mahoning Valley locals to know who you are, what you do, and why they should choose you, newsletter sponsorship is a simple way to show up where the community is already paying attention.

Summer gets locals out and about — and YoTown Scoop helps local businesses stay in front of them all week long. If you want Mahoning Valley locals to know who you are, what you do, and why they should choose you, newsletter sponsorship is a simple way to show up where the community is already paying attention.

The Best Weekend Guide in Youngstown:

Everything on the radar this weekend — every event title links straight to its Facebook page for tickets and details. 130 events and counting.

✅ Rumor confirmed: Dave & Ed’s Summer Canfield Automotive Swap Meet is officially on for July 17–19 at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

Multi-Day / Ongoing

Thursday, July 16

Friday, July 17

Saturday, July 18

Sunday, July 19

Looking Ahead — August

🌟 P.S. 🌟

Pck one spot on that list you've never been to — and go this week. The Valley is prettiest with your feet in the water.

YOTOWN SCOOP PREPARES TO CELEBRATE ONE YEAR with the SCOOP!

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